Only in 1,000 Ways
by Avadedra Hetarra
Summary: Post DoC. Cloud's having nightmares. Vincent's unsure. The "family" comes to the rescue. Summary sucks do to space. Read inside for more details.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Only in 1,000 Ways  
**Author: **~AVA~  
**Rating: **PG13 – R (at most, depending on situations)  
**Game: **Final Fantasy VII (after Dirge of Cerberus)  
**Characters: **Reflective Vincent, Semi-Emo Cloud, Crazy Insane Reno, Slap Happy Yuffie, Papa Cid, the Kids  
**Pairing(s): **Vincent/Cloud  
**Warning(s): **Language, Adult Situations, Emo-ness (from the Chocobo)  
**Summary: **Sephiroth's back with a vengeance, wreaking havoc in Cloud's dreams.  
**Notes: **Written instead of/around my JRock fanfics. Because I'm totally uncool and boring like that.  
**Disclaimer: **SqueEnix beat me to it! Noooo!  
**Date: **March 3, 2009

After a posting hiatus of... too long... I bring back something new. Wow, I suck. lol But if you could see the list of JRock series I've begun... and yet to finish, mostly... you'd understand. I think my JRock and _Moon Child_ are on a semi-permanent hiatus. I dunno, we'll see. For now, see if you can enjoy this. :) Let me know how it goes.

---

_Prologue_

Cloud woke in a panicked sweat, gasping in the cool night air. Sitting up, he let the light blanket fall from his bear chest and pool into his lap. Panting quietly, he rubbed his face with a shaking hand. Beside him, Vincent stirred in the darkness, rolling onto his back and peering at the younger man through the shadows.

"Cloud?"

Shaking his head roughly, the blonde slipped from the bed and into the hall. Vincent lay in silence, listening to the others receding footsteps, before letting go a deep breath. This was the eighteenth night, if he recalled properly, that Cloud had done this. Unknown to his companion, Vincent was always awake when Cloud fell into slumber, and he knew the exact moment that the dreams began to plague his sleeping mind. But Cloud would never own up to these things, and Vincent wasn't one to push. Cloud would wake in a frenzy and leave the room. It would be hours later before he'd come back, and Vincent would pretend to sleep again, not allowing himself to really rest until he felt Cloud curl up behind him and drift off again. Then, he'd turn over and draw the young man into his arms, will the nightmares away, and sleep.

Vincent wasn't sure what to do at this juncture. He'd followed Cloud from the room the first night and ended up ensnared in an argument with him over petty things. After that, Vincent had learned to leave Cloud to his own devices.

Settling himself back into his pillow, the dark eyed vampire studied the shadows along the ceiling. He considered speaking with Tifa about this behavior, hoping maybe she could help sort things out. He almost didn't notice when Cloud came back into the room until he felt the bed shift.

Cloud curled against Vincent's side, resting his blonde head on the sturdy shoulder beneath it.

"I'm okay," he whispered.

"I hope so. Cloud, what's going on?"

Cloud tensed. Vincent could almost envision the expression of sadness mingling with Cloud's normal blank one.

"He's back," Cloud finally whispered, his voice almost too quiet to hear.

"Who is?"

"Sephiroth." It was Vincent's turn to tense. "In my head, I mean," Cloud quickly amended. "All in my head. My dreams turn to nightmares. Vincent… he's trying to kill me."

Vincent remained silent, pulling Cloud tighter to his side. He carefully kept his clawed arm away, but the one he could still use, now devoid of its characteristic glove, petted the soft skin of Cloud's back. Skin to skin like this, Vincent could feel Cloud's heartbeat, and he knew Cloud could hear his. Slowly, the blonde drifted back into sleep. Once again, as he'd begun doing, Vincent willed the nightmares to stay away, but he could not sleep. When the first rays of dawn began to creep over Edge, Vincent let his eyes fall closed finally. Daylight always made the shadows weak. He only hoped it worked on nightmares, too.

"_Are sins ever forgiven?"  
_"_I've never tried."_

_---  
_Hey look! I'm posting something! Tell me it sucks. XD And I call Vincent a vampire because... well... I don't know what else to call him. lol


	2. Chapter 1

**Title: **Only in 1,000 Ways  
**Author: **~AVA~  
**Rating: **PG13 – R (at most, depending on situations)  
**Game: **Final Fantasy VII (after Dirge of Cerberus)  
**Characters: **Reflective Vincent, Semi-Emo Cloud, Crazy Insane Slightly Emo Reno, Slap Happy Yuffie, Papa Cid, the Kids  
**Pairing(s): **Vincent/Cloud  
**Warning(s): **Language, Adult Situations, Emo-ness (from the Chocobo)  
**Summary: **Sephiroth's back with a vengeance, wreaking havoc in Cloud's dreams.  
**Notes: **Written instead of/around my JRock fanfics. Because I'm totally uncool and boring like that. BTW, I prefer calling Aerith by the name she's _supposed_ to have. I even fixed it in-game when you got to name her character. I'm a dork, too. Also, for my friend, DK's appreciation, I'm tossing in a Reno side-story to take place throughout the main plot line. =^__^= Gotta keep the Kitten happy, yo!  
**Disclaimer: **SqueEnix beat me to it! Noooo!  
**Date: **March 8, 2009

I don't promise greatness, and I know I have a knack for being long-winded, but if you'll bear with me, I promise I'll do my best. :)

---

Reno's lethargic mood was shattered abruptly when something small and solid collided with his back, knocking him face first into the pavement. His EMR, which he'd been twirling idly in his boredom, went bouncing and skittering away from him. Said "something" commenced with pummeling his back and shoulders with sharp fists, a loud, shrill voice ringing through the air, making people stop and stare.

"Where is it?" Yuffie Kisaragi demanded, tugging none to gently on Reno's red ponytail. "I know you have it! Where is it?!"

"Ow! OW! Knock it off, you maniac!" Reno protested his treatment loudly, clasping his hands over the back of his head. "What? I don't know what you're talking about, yo!"

"Don't lie to me, you Turk imbecile!" Yuffie shrieked, grabbing the back of Reno's coat and shaking him. Reno's hands quickly flew in front of his face to keep from smashing his nose against the concrete. "Where'd you hide it?!"

"Let me go, pipsqueak!" Reno yelled, trying to throw the young ninja from his back. "You're messing me up, yo!"

"I'll do more than that, you-EEK!"

The weight of Yuffie on his back suddenly lifted. Panting, Reno rolled over. Yuffie was currently dangling four feet from the ground, held in one hand by Rude. Still gasping, and rubbing a few ribs, Reno saluted his partner with a thumbs up.

"Okay there, partner?" Rude asked.

"I've been better," Reno replied. "I've also been worse."

Climbing to his feet, Reno dusted himself off, wincing at the scrapes on his hands. He retrieved his EMR and came back to Rude, still holding a sulking Yuffie, and glared at the girl.

"Now," he said, trying to stay calm, "why don't you act like a human, yo, instead of a wild animal and tell me what the hell you mean by attacking me?"

Yuffie glared, the affect lost completely in her position, but Reno knew better than to laugh. The Wutain ninja was capable of anything.

"Marlene told me you swiped my Master Ifirit Summon materia," Yuffie literally hissed between clenched teeth. "And I want it back."

Reno quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Marlene told you that? Marlene, Barret's _eight year old_ daughter?" Yuffie deflated a little. "If an eight year old told you that Chocobo's lived on the moon, would you believe that too, yo?"

Yuffie deflated the rest of the way. Rude set her down on the ground and, with one large, yet gentle, hand straightened her jacket back out. The girl had the presence of mind to nod and mutter her thanks before returning her stare to Reno.

"You… really don't have it?"

"Damn, even I'm not dumb enough to steal from a Wutai ninja," Reno said, smirking. "Nothing good ever comes from it, yo."

Yuffie shrugged. "All I know is it's gone and Marlene said you took it. What was I supposed to do?"

"You coulda asked, you know," Reno said. "It ain't that hard to do."

"Yah, sure," Yuffie retorted. "If you don't have it, someone else does."

"Go ask Marlene," Rude put in.

Yuffie jumped, caught off guard by the big man's voice. "Sure. Yah. I'll do that."

Spinning on her heal, Yuffie strode off in the direction of Seventh Heaven. Reno rubbed his sore ribs once more, watching her leave. "Would've made a damn good Turk, yo."

Rude grunted. Rolling his eyes, Reno turned and started walking in the direction he'd been going before Yuffie's attack.

"Where you goin'?" Rude asked softly.

"Everywhere and nowhere, partner," Reno returned, chuckling. "It's been quiet lately, yo. Even the two heroes are acting boring."

Rude chuckled. "Wishing for a bad guy attack, Reno?"

"Not on your life, partner." Reno laid his EMR across his shoulders, gripping it with both hands as he studied the sky. "It's nice, ya know, not having to look over my shoulder all the time. A little down time for this Turk. R-and-R, yah?" Rude grunted his agreement. "Besides, I've been thinking about get-"

Reno was interrupted by an explosion a few streets away.

"You were saying?" Rude joked before running in the direction of the smoking building. Reno sighed, shaking his head sadly before following suit.

*

As the moon rose that night, Vincent escaped to the rooftop of the building he and Cloud lived in. From there he could see the brightly lit sign for Tifa's bar the next street over. Glancing downward, he noted that Fenrir was still gone, meaning Cloud was either late getting back from his last delivery, or else he'd stopped off at Aerith's church. It still bothered Vincent a little that Cloud did that, but the visits had become more and more infrequent in the last two and a half years. The dark haired man could only hope that this meant Cloud was finally starting to move on.

Tipping his head back, Vincent focused his gaze on the near-full moon, feeling Chaos stirring within his chest. He couldn't blame Cloud for wanting to be near a friend. Only last month he'd traveled to the cave of crystals, just to sit and talk to Lucrecia, even if she never responded. She'd departed this world, even if her body was perfectly preserved for all time. The echoes of her voice, her sorrow, had faded, finally, but he could still hear her in his heart. He could imagine that it was the same of Aerith with Cloud.

Although they lived together now and shared a bed, Cloud was still a mystery to Vincent. How they'd come together was anyone's guess, but Vincent suspected that it was their kinship based on what had been done to them. Cloud's body had been altered; he'd age slowly, he'd heal well. Much longer in Hojo's clutches and he might have ended up like Vincent: locked in a box beneath the mansion, drowning in his own perceived sins, and trapped in a body that would likely never die. Even now, Vincent dreamed he was still there, and that all that had passed in the last four and a half years was nothing more than a dream. Above all else, he prayed that it wasn't so. He enjoyed the freedom he now had, even if it had cost him part of his soul.

He'd found a family here in Edge. He'd learned to love again, despite it all. And love he did, because with Cloud, everything was new and exciting, no matter how often they did anything. It was enough to chase away Vincent's regrets and sadness.

A familiar rumbling reached Vincent's ears, curling his lips into a thin smile. Fenrir roared into view moments later, Cloud bent low against the cold air flowing over him. Vincent slid from the roof and landed softly on the ground. The blonde spotted his companion quickly, gliding to a stop before the building and killing the engine. Dropping the kickstand, Cloud slid from the bike. Vincent noticed the fatigued look around his eyes, the way his shoulders slumped a little. Moving forward, he wrapped the shorter man in his arms, enjoying the sensation of Cloud melting against him.

"Sorry I'm late," Cloud said, his voice muffled against Vincent's shoulder. "I stopped to see Zack. Needed to talk to him."

Vincent nodded. Zack Fair lived in part of Cloud's soul, a voice that spoke to him from time to time, and had actually saved him on occasion. Cloud spoke of him once in a while, always with pride and anguish evident in his voice. It made Vincent wish he could have met and known him. It was because of Zack that Cloud had survived Hojo and had made it to Midgar. It was because of Zack that Cloud missed Aerith as much as he did.

"It's alright," Vincent said, stepping back. "I knew you were safe."

"I'm sorry if I woke you last night," Cloud added, dropping his gaze to the ground. "I tried not to."

"I don't mind. Cloud, what's going on?"

Biting his lip, Cloud turned away to shuffle through one of the compartments on Fenrir. He pulled a saddlebag free and tossed it over his shoulder before quickly assembling the many pieces of his sword and tucking it into the overly large sheath on his back. His head still down, he moved past Vincent and into the building.

It wasn't until they were both securely in their own small apartment that Cloud let his defenses drop. He was one of the Planet Heroes, one of the revered among the crowd, a twice-made icon. Even now people, especially children, looked up to him, their eyes full of awe and pride. Cloud, having come through so much adversity, including his rejection from SOLDIER in his younger years, felt compelled to keep up appearances. Tifa, Barret, and the rest of AVALANCHE had gone back to normal lives, fading into obscurity as best as "slum-rats" could do, but Cloud couldn't. The populace wouldn't let him. No, that wasn't true. _SHINRA_ wouldn't let him.

Vincent suppressed a growl at the thought of those two Turks, Reno and Rude, out there prowling through Edge, just waiting. The former Turk knew that they were always waiting for Rufus Shinra's order to attempt to drag Cloud back into service. They'd tried a few times, but Cloud managed to evade their grasp. Still, Vincent, whose theory was agreed upon by both Tifa and Cid, knew that sooner or later, Cloud would be brought in, and he'd go in swinging. First Tsurugi would be used to a grand extent that day.

Even so, Cloud had carved out a living, setting up and running Strife Delivery Service, much of which he did on his own. Just yesterday he'd left to deliver supplies to Gongaga, which was still rebuilding around the debris of the old reactor. Zack's parents had both passed in the last two years, and Cloud made sure that their graves were well maintained for his departed friend. He'd even paid to have a marker for their son placed between them in the small cemetery plot. It was normally that which prompted Cloud to go to the cliff side monument to Zack: the Buster Sword, passed to Zack from the hero Angeal, thrust into the earth that claimed him.

Cloud set his bag and sword aside, slumping into a chair in the corner of their living room space.

"I can't explain it," he said, his head tilted back, eyes closed. "Sephiroth was dead all those years ago, yet he still haunted me. Through Kadaj, he tried again to kill me. I was never able to understand his interest in me."

"What about these dreams?" Vincent prompted when Cloud fell silent.

"That's the crazy part." Cloud looked up at Vincent. "I fall asleep, nothing unusual about it. I start to dream, normally about plain old everyday things, but suddenly, Sephiroth's there, invading, cutting everything down. I watch people die over and over. Zack, Aerith, Tifa, the kids. You."

Vincent moved to kneel in front of Cloud. "Are you sure that it's Sephiroth?"

"Until the day I'm too old to remember my own name, I'll never forget his face."

Vincent caressed Cloud's face with his clawless hand, hating Hojo a fraction more for the grotesque metal appendage, wiping the errant tears away. He hated to see Cloud cry, even if he did it so infrequently. After surviving the last encounter with Loz and Yazoo in which he'd been rebuked from death by Aerith and Zack, Cloud had spent weeks in which he'd cry when he thought no one was looking. But Vincent always saw the tears, and he always held Cloud, shielding him from others, just so the tears could fall. They'd made many visits to the Lost City during that time.

"Sephiroth said he wouldn't remain a memory," Cloud whispered. "He wasn't lying."

*

A few days later, Tifa heard the bell over the door to the bar, indicating that someone had come in. Not looking up from her opening preparations, she sighed.

"We're not open for another fifteen mi-"

"Tifa?"

The dark haired woman looked up with a smile. "Vincent. Come in. Lock the door, will you?"

Nodding, he did as asked, turning the bolt that Tifa hadn't had time to secure when she'd come in from the market. The interior of the bar was cool, the few fans on the ceiling turning on a low setting. It was dark compared to the late afternoon light outside, but Vincent preferred that.

"Can I… talk to you?" he asked, settling at the bar.

"Sure." Tifa smiled. "Just give me another minute to get this done."

At his nod, Tifa dropped her gaze back to her ledger. Cloud normally took care of the accounts for her, but he was off on a delivery to Rocket Town, and knowing Cid, wasn't allowed to leave until the old pilot was caught up on all the goings-on in Edge. According to his last phone call, Cloud expected to escape early the next morning, unless Cid tied him to something and tortured more information from him.

Biting back a laugh, Tifa made a few more notations and closed the book. Stowing it back beneath the bar, she turned to Vincent and smiled.

"What can I do for you?"

"It's about Cloud."

Tifa's smile faded, her brow furrowing at the obvious concern in Vincent's voice. If he was coming to her about Cloud, then something must really be wrong.

"What is it?"

"When you were children, was Cloud prone to nightmares?"

Tifa's brow furrowed further. "Sometimes. He went a few years where he was scared of the dark. Our houses were next to each other, so I knew when he was having a bad night. There was always a lamp on. I remember once he said that a giant was coming to kill him."

"A giant?"

"He even drew it once," Tifa nodded. "It was black and grey, kind of tall and thin. Now that I think about it, at once point he did a drawing of it that looked a lot like Sephiroth. Of course, at that age, we didn't even know who Sephiroth was. But it scared Cloud so badly that he tore the picture to pieces and burned them. Vincent, what's going on?"

Vincent fell silent for a time, digesting this bit of information. After a while, he looked up at Tifa grimly.

"Cloud's nightmares have returned," he said softly. "And this time, the giant has form and a name. Sephiroth's back."

---

Reviews would be lovely! -hearts-


	3. Chapter 2

**Title: **Only in 1,000 Ways  
**Author: **~AVA~  
**Rating: **PG13 – R (at most, depending on situations)  
**Game: **Final Fantasy VII (after Dirge of Cerberus)  
**Characters: **Reflective Vincent, Semi-Emo Cloud, Crazy Insane Slightly Emo Reno, Slap Happy Yuffie, Papa Cid, the Kids  
**Pairing(s): **Vincent/Cloud  
**Warning(s): **Language, Adult Situations, Emo-ness (from the Chocobo)  
**Summary: **Sephiroth's back with a vengeance, wreaking havoc in Cloud's dreams.  
**Notes: **Written instead of/around my JRock fanfics. Because I'm totally uncool and boring like that. BTW, I prefer calling Aerith by the name she's _supposed_ to have. I even fixed it in-game when you got to name her character. I'm a dork, too. Also, for my friend, DK's appreciation, I'm tossing in a Reno side-story to take place throughout the main plot line. =^__^= Gotta keep the Kitten happy, yo!  
**Disclaimer: **SqueEnix beat me to it! Noooo!  
**Date: **March 10, 2009

Dubbed "Reno's Coming Clean" chapter. :D I think I've decided to let this particular fiction ramble where it will. *shrug* It'll go up and down, so try and keep up. *cackle*

**---**

Cloud crouched before the Buster Sword, his hands dangling limply between his knees. The faded pink ribbon still tied dutifully around his left bicep twisted in the breeze, tickling his skin. Fenrir stood a few feet away, the many pieces of First Tsurugi stowed in the compartments. He'd muted his phone and left it with the bike as well. He needed to think, needed to work things out in his mind before he lost it all together.

Strands of hair fell across his brow, obscuring his Mako blue eyes. The glow had begun to fade in the last few years as his body became less dependent upon the Mako. Still, he knew his body was altered on a genetic level, so he'd still suffer his longevity. Hojo hadn't been stupid, that much was for certain.

"Zack," he whispered, his eyes tracing the rust running the length of the blade, "what would you do if you were here?"

The breeze picked up momentarily, causing the Buster Sword to shake a little. It almost seemed as if Zack was laughing at him. Almost. They'd been friends for five years, despite Zack being a first class in SOLDIER and Cloud being a mere MP. Zack had ended up saving Cloud in the end, hauling him from Nibelheim to Midgar before being gunned down by Shinra snipers.

"Some friend you are," Cloud muttered, his eyes scanning the surrounding area. "No words of wisdom this time?" The breeze moved again, harder this time, twisting the tails of the ribbon around itself. "Fine. I get it. Thanks."

A distant hum reached his ears. Standing upright, Cloud moved closer to the sword and looked into the valley below him. Someone was coming, the trail of dust kicked up by the motorcycle indicating a high rate of speed. Moving quickly, he went to Fenrir and dug around for a few moments. Finding his binoculars, he stepped back to the edge and focused the lenses on the approaching figure. The driver wore a dark helmet, but Cloud could see the long red ponytail trailing out behind him.

"Reno," he muttered, dropping the binoculars from his eyes. "Great."

Knowing it was useless to run, not when Reno was already three-quarters of the way to him, Cloud decided to see what the Turk wanted. Fifteen minutes later, Reno crested the last rise and found the blonde swordsman leaning nonchalantly against Fenrir. He raised a hand in friendly, neutral greeting as he slowed to a stop. Dropping the kickstand, he drew the helmet from his head.

"Yo, Cloud! I was hoping to catch you out here." Reno smiled.

"What do you want, Reno?"

The red-heads smile slid abruptly off of his face at Cloud's cold tone, his hands going up in a semi-defensive motion. "Come on, Cloud! After all we been through, you still treat me like this? What gives?"

"Answer me one question first: did Rufus Shinra send you?"

"No. Turk's honor, yo." Reno made a motion over his chest. "Cross my heart, I'm here on my own."

"How'd you ditch Rude?"

Reno blushed, laughing nervously. "Tifa."

Cloud's eyes narrowed momentarily, but he refused to react otherwise. Tifa could take care of herself, and it was no secret to anyone that Rude had a crush on her. So what if Tifa found herself returning the affection? Rude knew that Cloud would kill him if he hurt her. That is, if Tifa didn't do it first and he could beat Cid to it.

"What do you want, Reno?" Cloud asked again.

"I just… want to talk. That's all."

"Then talk."

Reno dropped his hands to his sides, looking slightly put-off and a whole lot of defeated. He hadn't expected to get Cloud's attention so easily, and now that he had it, he was completely at a loss. He had to talk, and soon, or he'd explode. Only problem was that Rude would never understand, Tseng would lecture him, Elena would want to talk about Tseng, and Rufus would flat out murder him. Barret was forever trying to shoot him in the head, Cid always thumbed his nose and turned away, Tifa would love nothing more than to drop-kick him (but wouldn't because of Rude), Nanaki was more or less absentee ninety-eight percent of the time, and Vincent scared the living hell out of him.

That left Cloud.

Of all the people on the planet, Reno was left talking to the most hard-headed, stubborn one of all. It was enough to make the Turk want to cry.

"I've been thinking about getting out, Cloud," Reno finally spit out.

"Out?" Cloud raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused.

"Out!" Reno waved his arms. "Out of Edge, out of Shinra, out of the Turks! Off this part of the continent! Just out, gone, away! How much more can I spell it out?"

"Why?" Cloud asked quietly, folding his arms and studying Reno closely.

Reno stopped. The one word question rocked him. Why? Why was Reno ready to run? His mind flashed back over the last year and a half. To the discovery of Deepground. Reno had almost died when those monsters had been unburied. He'd come so damn close that he'd been forced to reconsider everything about himself. He wasn't much older than Cloud himself, but he'd been through a hell of a lot more in his service to Shinra. He felt old. Ancient. And lost.

"I'm tired, yo," he said. "Tired of fighting, tired of taking orders. Tired of chasing your spiky-headed ass all over the planet, too. All I've known my whole life is how to do what someone else told me to do. My folks, former President Shinra, Rufus, Tseng. Only person who never gave me orders was me."

Cloud nodded, shoving off of Fenrir and moving back toward the Buster Sword. Reno followed at a safe distance.

"Cloud, how do you do it? How do you handle everyone always watching you? All the time, day and night, eyes everywhere. Always watching you. How do you stand it?"

The swordsman didn't answer right away. He took his time, studying the area of forest that had devoured what was left of Midgar. He felt a twinge of pain in his heart, knowing that Zack had been so close to it, so close to getting back to Aerith, when he'd died on this out-cropping. Closing his eyes, he pictured his friend laying here, bleeding to death. Such an anti-climactic ending to a wonderful life.

"_Live. You'll be my living legacy. My honor and dreams... they belong to you now."_

"I endure it because I know what it's like to be a shadow," Cloud answered simply. "I was Zack's living shadow for five years. I was Sephiroth's imagined shadow after that. Now, I'm not a shadow anymore. I'm not a nobody. I'm me, a planet hero. I've got a life now, a name of my own."

"Just like you, Cloud," Reno chuckled. "Always the first to down yourself, yet you still got pride. It's one of the reasons I like you, yo."

Cloud cast a sharp glance over his shoulder, effectively shutting Reno up. The Turk knew that look, even if the glow in Cloud's eyes had faded by at least half.

"I didn't mean anything by it, man," Reno said easily. "Just sayin', you got a way about you that's not like most others."

"What about you, Reno?" Cloud turned to face him. "What are you going to do now? I'm sure you haven't said anything to anyone else about this. You've got your reasons, of course, but it'll come out sooner or later. Things like this always do."

Reno stared hard at Cloud.

"I still got a lot of thinking to do," he shrugged. "I still don't know if I'll ever really do it. Leaving the Turks and Shinra would be like cutting off my own arm. It just wouldn't feel right, not at first. I can't imagine not doing it, but I know it'll kill me one day."

"That's the way of things," Cloud said. He went back and climbed onto Fenrir, drawing his driving goggles down over his eyes. "Reno, if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that you have to be prepared to live with the consequences of whatever action you take. You're a hero, too."

Fenrir roared to life. Using his heel to stow the kickstand, Cloud swung wide around Reno and headed down the cliff. Reno put his helmet on and followed suit, his mind racing. Cloud pulled ahead of him within moments of hitting the flat stretch of the valley. So caught up in his musings was Reno that he almost missed it.

From out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning flashed. Cloud's body went rigid on his bike, jerking upright. In the next second, another bolt sent him flying backward off of Fenrir. Reno swerved to avoid Clouds flying body, tipping the bike he rode onto its side. The Turk impacted hard with the ground, rolling and cussing as he went. Recovering quickly, he was on his feet, discarding the helmet so he could see.

Cloud hit the ground just behind where Reno had been and slid and rolled another ten feet. Fenrir, driverless, went out of control, crashing into a pillar of stone. One look told Reno that the bike was useless. A quick scan told him that no one was nearby, so he headed for Cloud.

"Cloud?" he yelled, dropping down next to the unconscious man. "Yo, Spiky! You okay?"

Cloud didn't stir. Feeling along his jaw line, Reno breathed a sigh of relief to find a pulse.

"Damn," he spit, reaching for his phone. "Rude? I need you and the chopper right now. Cloud's down and he needs help."

Stowing the phone back in his pocket, Reno gathered Cloud into his arms to wait.

"Damn, Cloud," he muttered, taking another look around. "What the hell have you gotten into this time? And why the hell are you dragging me in with you?"

---

O_O I promise, this wasn't planned. XD Reviews are nice. -heart-


	4. Chapter 3

**Title: **Only in 1,000 Ways  
**Author: **~AVA~  
**Rating: **PG13 – R (at most, depending on situations)  
**Game: **Final Fantasy VII (after Dirge of Cerberus)  
**Characters: **Reflective Vincent, Semi-Emo Cloud, Crazy Insane Slightly Emo Reno, Slap Happy Yuffie (not so happy this chapter), Papa Cid, the Kids  
**Pairing(s): **Vincent/Cloud  
**Warning(s): **Language, Adult Situations, Emo-ness (from the Chocobo)  
**Summary: **Sephiroth's back with a vengeance, wreaking havoc in Cloud's dreams.  
**Notes: **Written instead of/around my JRock fanfics. Because I'm totally uncool and boring like that. BTW, I prefer calling Aerith by the name she's _supposed_ to have. I even fixed it in-game when you got to name her character. I'm a dork, too. Also, for my friend, DK's appreciation, I'm tossing in a Reno side-story to take place throughout the main plot line. =^__^= Gotta keep the Kitten happy, yo!  
**Disclaimer: **SqueEnix beat me to it! Noooo!  
**Date: **March 11 - April 14, 2009

Cloud's defenses are weakening since he's not dependant on Mako anymore. With almost 10 years to work it out of his system, doesn't that make sense? This also puts Cloud around the age of 25 by my calculation.

Sorry this took so long. XD I've been back and forth with being sick and having to work like crazy lately. Mostly sick, though. lol Oh, and my JRock Muses are waking up! YAE! So all my fics are vying for attention now! But don't worry, I haven't forgotten this little baby.

Also... my word count is dropping. XD Need to work on that.

---

_A haze settled over his vision, making the world swim through clouds. His head felt heavy, like lead. Lifting it slightly, he saw Zack walking away, disappearing into the fog. His own hand floated into sight, wavering, shaking horribly. Though he wanted to cry out, wanted to call his best friend back, he couldn't. Not this time. Never again. His voice, and his body, betrayed him._

*

As soon as Rude hung up his phone, Tifa dashed out the back of the bar to the truck that waited there. She'd heard the panic in Reno's voice and knew that something was wrong. She was on her way before Rude was even in the air.

Cussing a streak, she yanked her phone out and dialed Vincent. He answered almost immediately.

"Vincent, I need you to get to Seventh Heaven and wait for us," she said in a rush, steering her way out toward the cliffs. "I don't know, but Cloud's in trouble. Find Yuffie; tell her we need some Materia."

Vincent didn't argue. Rude roared overhead, flying low. She pulled up next to the wrecked Fenrir just as Rude shut the helicopter down.

"What happened?" she demanded, running over to crouch next to Reno and Cloud.

"I don't know," Reno admitted. "One second, we're on our way home. Next thing there's lightning from the clear blue sky. He's not waking up and I don't know why."

Tifa felt for a pulse, nodding. "He's alive. I've seen him like this before, but he still needs help." She pulled apart the torn pieces of his shirt, wincing. "He's not healing yet. Damn. We need to get him back to Seventh Heaven. Vincent's waiting. Rude, can you take the truck and get Cloud's bike? Reno and I can get him back in the helicopter."

Knowing it was useless to argue with Tifa where Cloud was concerned, Rude jerked a curt nod and took the keys from her. With Reno's help, they maneuvered Cloud into the helicopter, Tifa climbing up next to him. Reno shot Rude a thumbs up as the machine roared to life. They lifted into the air and were gone.

Rude watched them fade into the distance before shaking his head. As cute as Tifa was, she sure could be scary when something mattered.

*

Before Reno could even shut the helicopter down, Vincent had already opened the door and removed Cloud from within. Calling on the strength of Chaos, whose features shone through slightly, he carried his companion into the bar and up the back stairs. Marlene and Denzel watched from the doorway of Denzel's room, Marlene holding tightly to her adopted brother's hand. Both children looked scared, but they didn't panic. They both knew that, in a world such as theirs, panic did no good. Vincent carefully settled Cloud onto a spare bed, tenderly brushing his hair from his brow.

Yuffie came flying in moments later, her arms laden with Materia. She dumped the glowing orbs onto a nearby chair, her eyes watery.

"I-I didn't know what kind to bring," she hiccupped. "Y-you didn't s-say what was wr-wrong with him, so I b-brought all the cu-cure Materia I could grab."

Vincent left Cloud's side when Tifa came in and wrapped the young ninja in his cape. Yuffie, for all her sass and gusto, was still very naïve and very much a child. The thought of losing anyone she knew and loved terrified her.

"Yuffie, do me a favor," Tifa said softly, taking in the younger woman's pale face. "Go make sure Marlene and Denzel are okay?"

Yuffie hiccupped again and nodded, getting up on her tip-toes to kiss Vincent's cheek. She stopped long enough to drop one on Cloud's forehead before fleeing the room. Tifa heard Marlene start to cry as soon as Yuffie reached the boy's bedroom.

"Vincent, have you ever seen wounds like this?" Tifa asked.

Vincent moved closer to examine the scorched skin. "Once," he said gravely, "from a Mastered Bolt Materia. It took lots of Cure to heal the person, but more than that it took time."

"Find the strongest Cure in the pile," Tifa instructed. "And have the Elixir's ready. We're going to need them."

They took turns working the Cure materia over Cloud's wounds. Eventually, Barret turned up and took a few turns, along with, strangely enough, Reno. The Turk felt oddly out of place, but he'd been there when the attack came and felt that he owed it to Cloud to do what he could.

The sun had set by the time none of them had the energy left to do any more. Tifa sat on the floor beside the bed, her head propped on her knees. Vincent was slumped in a corner next to Barret while Reno sat in the doorway. Cloud's wounds had healed considerably, but there were some that refused. He lay in a fever, his body soaked with sweat. Tifa's shoulders shook with tears of futility.

"Damn!" She slammed her fist into the floor, making everyone jump. "Are there any more?"

Vincent turned weary and pain filled eyes on the pile of Materia still in the chair. A number of them had been used, so more than a handful were dull. He shook his head sadly and resumed staring at the floor. Tifa forced herself to her feet and bent over Cloud again.

"Cloud?" she whispered, brushing his hair from his damp forehead. "Can you hear me? We've done all we can out here. You have to come back to us. When you're ready."

Settling on the edge of the bed, she rubbed her palms together. Reno stared at each person in turn, taking in haggard and worried expressions. Using the doorframe, he pulled himself to his feet. He hadn't felt this beat up since his last drunken brawl in Mideel. Wincing, he forced himself upright.

"You fools look beaten," he said to the room at large. "Like you lost. Well, we're not licked yet." With that, he turned on his heel. "I'm going to see the President."

Three sets of eyes watched him leave. Vincent's gaze drifted back to land on the pale face of his partner. Staring at him for a long moment, he rose to his feet.

"I must see Reeve," he said quietly before heading after Reno.

Reno had just pulled open the door to the helicopter when a low voice spoke his name. With a startled yell, the Turk spun around, EMR at the ready.

"Vincent! Damn, man! What is wrong with you?"

"I need a ride," Vincent said simply.

"What? Hey, wait, you know I can't…" Reno gulped when Vincent's claw covered left arm shot out from beneath his cloak and gripped his throat tightly. "That is to say… ugh… if we keep it hush-hush, between us. You know?"

Vincent slowly relaxed his grip. "Your services will be duly repaid."

Reno only relaxed once they were airborne and he was back in his element.

*

"Reeve, what's going on?"

Reeve Tuesti sat back, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. His expression was both thoughtful and upset, though Vincent could only guess why. He'd arrived at Reeve's small office nearly two hours prior, and had only finished telling him everything; starting with the nightmares and the late night wanderings down to the revelation of Sephiroth in Cloud's dreams. Vincent's worry was evident, even to someone like Reeve.

Finally, in more words than Vincent had ever used at any one time in his entire existence, Reeve knew everything that was going on. Now, the two men sat in silence.

While waiting for Reeve to say something, Vincent's eyes wandered the corners of the small office, falling with a mild grimace on the silent figure of Cait Sith next to the window. Reeve's favorite "toy" had been more trouble than it was worth at times.

"Vincent, I hate to tell you this, but I think I know what's going on," Reeve finally said.

"What?"

"Come with me."

Together they left the office and moved through the corridors of the new Shinra Building. Built on a smaller scale than the original, the new headquarters was not without its class and style. Each department had been recreated and was headed by those closely monitored by the President and his staff. Reeve had even received his old job back, which made him extremely happy. They entered the science department corridor, bypassing most of the marked doors on either side.

At the very end of the hall, Reeve pressed a code into a panel beside a thick, windowless door. It slid aside with a small _whoosh_ and they stepped inside.

"We've been collecting data for the last eight months of some pretty odd disturbances," Reeve explained, leading Vincent to a bank of computers set in a far corner. "They've been popping up all over the world, but mostly around the Northern Crater and the place where the Temple of the Ancients used to stand." He pulled up a series of images. "Scouts have brought these pictures back to us."

Vincent leaned in close, his eyes going wide.

"You're kidding," he said. "Tell me this is a joke. That looks like…"

"No, it's not," Reeve intoned. "That is _exactly _who you think it is. Alive. And in the flesh."

---

Read and Review, Lovelies! -heart bubbles-


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